The Miata of the Monthfrom

March 2010

Randy Dobbins

Congratulations to Randy on the selection of his Miata as the March Miata of the Month!

When the Miata first hit the streets in 1989, I knew I had to have one. My first daughter was born the next year, so a two-seater wasn’t practical. My dream car would have to wait. In 2004, my marriage of 16 years ended. The following year my 20-year career ended. The time had finally come. The severance from my layoff had been substantial, and without thinking twice, I bought the car I had waited 15 long years for. It was a Pure White stock 2003 Miata, with 30,000 miles on it. I finally had my little sports car. I put a lot of miles on my daily driver that first year; commuting 60 miles each way from the Central Valley of California to the Bay Area was no problem at all.

While my life had certainly taken some downturns, my Miata gave me a focus; something to do to pass all the lonely hours. Whenever I was down, I would buy yet another upgrade for my newest pride and joy. You could say that working on my car was my “therapy” of choice. I spent hours and hours cleaning the engine bay, making modifications and adding to the car. I’m not going to bore you with all the additions, but there were a lot. But it still felt like she was “all dressed up with nowhere to go.”

In July 2006, she had her well-deserved fifteen minutes of fame. My grandmother was honored in the small town of Greenville, CA as their Citizen of the Year. My Miata and I had the privilege of driving her in the town’s annual Gold Rush Days parade. We were second in line and had no shortage of admirers. Some couldn’t believe it was a Miata, asking “What kind of car IS that?” With intense pride, I’d always smile and reply “a Mazda Miata.” And while the comments and compliments are great, the best part of the day was driving my Miata up the Feather River Canyon on the winding Highway 70 to that small Sierra town.

And how does my own story end, you might ask?

At the end of 2008, I met my wife, also a Miata enthusiast. She had owned a red 1992 Miata herself, and admitted she cried when she sold it. Oddly enough, we even ran into members of the Southern California Miata Club on our first date. We are now a blended family of six and have decided to keep my Miata. I have told her many times, I won’t get rid of it when the engine goes. The car will stay and we will have buy another engine. Right now, it is all show and no “go”, but our plan is to get a turbocharger for mine and buy another Miata for her in the future.